Open Letter in Support of the Artist Asel Kadyrkhanova
An open letter initiated by members of the Kazakhstani and international art community protests the removal of artist Asel Kadyrkhanova's work *Machine* (2013) from the Kazakhstan pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The mixed-media installation, which addresses Stalinist repression through a vintage typewriter, arrest warrants, and red threads, was dismantled on May 5, 2026, reportedly by order of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Culture and Information, just before the pavilion's opening. The artist and curator were allegedly pressured to alter the work beforehand, and the ministry initially cited restrictions from the Italian side, but the Italian Ministry of Defense denied involvement.
